Throwing arm latch for spring target traps

ABSTRACT

An assembly for latching, holding and releasing the throwing arms of spring operated target traps including an upstanding slotted bracket mounted upon the back end of the trap base which protects an arm latching lever, pivoted on the base. The latching lever is spring biased to hold a throwing arm in a cocked positions. The lever extends throw the slot in the assembly. The spring biasing the lever is connected to the assembly and is positioned within the assembly.

nited States Patent Luebkeman Dec. 9, 1975 3368542 2/1968 Dale 124/8 Primary Examiner-Richard J. Apley [76] Inventor: Geroge C. Luebkeman, 115 Mount Nebo Road, Cleves, Ohio 45002 Assistant Examiner-Wflham R. Browne Attorney, Agent, or FirmWalter S. Murray [22] Filed: Jan. 9, 1975 f Appllcatlon Data An assembly for latching, holding and releasing the Continuatlon Of Ser. N0. 381,277, July 20, throwing am s of pring perated target traps includ abandcmed' ing an upstanding slotted bracket mounted upon the back end of the trap base which protects an arm latch- [2%] 81.2 124/36; 124/34; 124/8 ing lever, pivoted on the base The latching lever is .f p g biased to a i g arm i a k d p i 1 0 arch 124/8 34 tions. The lever extends throw the slot in the assembly. The spring biasing the lever is connected to the [56] References Clted assembly and is positioned within the assembly.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,179,101 4/1965 Luebkeman .1 124/8 5 Clams 6 D'awmg THROWING ARM LATCH FGR SPRING TARGET TRAPS This application is a continuation'of application Ser. No. 38l,277, filed 7/20/73, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to spring actuated traps such as are used to throw clay targets into the air for the sport of trap shooting and more particularly to a novel latch assembly for latching, holding in cocked position and tripping the spring operated throwing arms of said traps.

An object of the invention is to provide a bracket structure having positive stops controlling the latched and tripped positions of the latching lever for the spring actuated, target throwing arm while protecting the lever and its pivot means against strains caused by the latching and tripping stresses exerted on the lever by the operation of the throwing arm.

Another object of the invention is to provide a relatively simple yet rugged bracket structure having the foregoing characteristics that insures a longer and trouble free life for target traps and which guards the spring biasing means of the lever.

Other objects will become apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. I is a fragmental side view of a conventional target trap in spring loaded position with the novel latch assembly positioned thereon.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the target trap depicted in FIG. 1, the dotted lines showing the target throwing arm in a released, target projecting position.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmental top plan view showing details of the latch assembly.

FIG, 4 is a section taken on line 44 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a section taken on line 55 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view like FIG. 4 showing a modification of my latch assembly.

In the accompanying drawings a conventional target trap 8 has an elongated base member 9 adjustably mounted for tilting movement upon a suitable earth positioned standard 10. The base member has a top wall 11 and a downturned side wall 12 integral with the top wall and positioned at right angles thereto. The forward end of the base member 9 mounts a bearing post 13 for a swinging target throwing arm 14. The throwing arm includes an elongated target support plate 15 having a longitudinal, hollow guide rail 16 formed along its trailing edge, which, as shown in FIG. 2, engages a target 17 supported upon the plate 15. The target throwing arm is actuated by a relatively heavy contractile spring 18 disposed between the base member 9 and the throwing arm 14 and connected at its forward end to a pin 19 depending from the forward end of the throwing arm. The opposite end of the spring is connected to an adjustment bolt 20 associated with the latch assembly that is indicated generally in the drawings by the reference numeral 21.

The latch assembly 21 consists of a bracket 22 mounted upon the back portion of the top wall 11 of the base member 9, said bracket having an upstanding back wall 23 fixed at its lower end to the rear end of the base member by means of an ear 24 struck from and turned at right angles to the back wall 23 and welded, riveted or otherwise fastened to the underside of the top Wall 11 of the base member (FIGS. 3 and 4). The bracket also has a downwardly and forwardly inclined wall 25 integrally joined at its rear end to the top por- 2 tion of the bracket back wall 22 by a return bend portion 26. The forward end of the inclined wall 25 is connected to the top wall 11 of the base member 9 by rivets 27, welds or other fasteners.

A latch lever 28 is pivotally mounted at its lower end to the exterior part of the base side wall 12 by a rivet 29, and as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawing, the lever extends upwardly above the base member 9 and swings on the rivet in a plane normal to the swinging movement of the target throwing arm 14. The foreshortened upper end portion of the lever 28 above the bracket is associated with a latch dog 30 mounted on the throwing arm 14 and projecting rearwardly from the rear end of said arm. The dog has a lever camming edge 31 and a flat lever latched edge 32 which cooperate with the lever to respectively provide for automatic latching of the arm and maintenance of the arm in a cocked position. A lateral portion of the inclined wall 25 of the bracket overhangs the side wall of the base and is provided with a narrow, longitudinally extending slot 33 normal to the axis of the rivet 29, the slot having a width slightly greater than the width dimension of the lever whereby an intermediate portion of the lever moves freely in the slot yet said lever is guarded against lateral stress imposed upon it during latching and the latched condition of the trap throwing arm by the side edges of the wall 25 formed by the slot.

A light contractile spring 34 is connected to the lever by means ofa hooked end 35 engaged in a hole 36 in the lever disposed intermediate the base top wall 11 and the inclined wall 25 of the bracket while the opposite end of the spring has a book 37 engaged in a hole 38 in the inclined wall 25 of the bracket, said spring being adapted to bias the lever towards normal position against a forward end 39 of the slot 33 to provide the arm cocked position of the lever. The lever is tripped by a rope 40 which when pulled rearwardly moves the lever 25 against the action of the spring 34 to the back end 41 of the slot 33. It will be noted that the bracket forms a guard against damage or displacement of the spring 34.

A clearance slot 42 is formed in the inclined wall 25 of the bracket through which the adjustment rod 20 of the arm actuating spring 18 passes, said rod having a threaded end 43 which freely passes through a hole 44 in the back-wall 23 of the bracket, a wing nut 45 being threaded to the end 43 which bears against the back wall 23 to adjust the arm operating tension on the spring 18.

In operation the clay target 17 is placed upon the target support plate 15 of the throwing arm 14 in contact I with the rail 16 at a desired longitudinal position depending upon the character of flight that is desired. The operator then cocks the arm by manually pivoting it from a dotted line position shown in FIG. 2 to a full line position in the course of which movement the camming surface 32 of the dog 31 engages the lever 28 and cams it backwards and the spring 34 pulls the lever forwardly into the latched position shown in the FIGS. of the drawings. It will be noted that the lateral force exerted in camming the lever rearwardly against the bias of the spring 34 is often excessive which creates an undue lateral strain on the lever and said spring and also tends to place a tension on the lever pivot 29, said stress being met by contact of the lever with longitudinal and lateral edges of the slot 33. As the lever returns to its normal latched position in the slot the throwing arm will be in cocked position with a relatively high moment of force being created by the spring 18 on the arm 14 and against the lever 28 by means of the latters contact with the dog 30. This great stress terds to again place a strain on the lever and on the pivot rivet 29 but such stress is countered by contact of the opposed side edge of the slot 33 with the lever. When the trap has been placed in cocked position the operator pulls the rope 40 rearwardly to trip the lever and pull it forcibly against the end 41 of the slot 30 which again guards the lever 28 and its spring against longitudinal strain brought about by the tripping action. As the lever 28 released the dog 30 the arm 14 will rotate on its bearing 13 from the full line position shown in FIG. 2 to the dotted line position thereby throwing the target 17 into a desired trajectory.

With reference to FIG. 6 of the drawings instead of the lever biasing spring 34 being connected to the bracket 22 its hook 37 is engaged in a hole 45 formed in the side wall 12 of the base member 9 beneath the overhanging portion of the bracket 22. Also in this modification the hole 36 in the lever 28 is moved upwardly from its position in FIG. 4 to locate the spring 34 in substantial parallelism beneath the inclined wall 25 of the bracket.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed 1. In a latch assembly for target traps each having an elongated base including a top wall and a side wall depending from a side edge of the top wall, a target throwing arm mounted on the forward end of the base for swinging movement above said base, a contractile spring for the throwing arm positioned between the arm and the base, a latching dog extending from the rear end of the arm, a latch lever associated with the dog, and a lateral pivot means mounting the lower end of the latch lever to the rear exterior part of the base side wall for oscillating movement in a plane normal to the swinging movement of the arm, said assembly comprising;

a bracket mounted upon a rear part of a bases top wall of a trap supporting member and said bracket having an upstanding back wall,

mounting means on the lower end of the back wall connecting the bracket to the rear end of bases top wall of a trap supporting member,

a downwardly and forwardly inclined wall having a lateral portion overhanging a side wall of a base of a trap supporting member and connected to the upper portion of the back wall, and flange means connecting the front portion of the back wall to the top wall of a base of a trap supporting member.

a narrow, longitudinally extending slot formed in the lateral portion of the inclined wall, a latch lever projecting vertically through the slot and having a foreshortened upper end associated with a dog on a throwing arm,

a spring disposed within the bracket biasing the latch lever into latching position with a dog,

said forward end of the slot forming a stop for said lever in said latching position, and latch trip means connected to the free end of the lever, the rear end of said slot forming a stop for the trip means, the lateral side edges of the slot supporting the lever against lateral stress when a throwing arm is moved towards latching and into cocked positions on a base of a trap supporting member and supporting the lever against lateral stress when the lever is moving toward unlatched condition.

2. In a latch assembly for a target trap as set forth in claim 1 wherein the spring means biasing the latch lever into latching position with a dog comprises a contractile spring connected between the lever and base and positioned wholly within the bracket anda base of a trap supporting member.

3. In a latch assembly for a target trap as set forth in claim 1 wherein the spring means biasing the latch lever into latching position with a dog comprises a contractile spring connected at one end to a portion of the lever disposed within the bracket and having its opposed end connected to the inclined wall of the bracket.

4. In a latch assembly for a target trap as set forth in claim 1 wherein the spring means biasing the latch lever into latching position with a dog comprises a contractile spring connected at one end to a portion of the lever subjacent the inclined wall of the bracket and having its opposed end connected to a portion of a base of a trap supporting member beneath the bracket.

5. In a latch assembly for a target trap as set forth in claim 1 wherein the mounting means is an ear projecting forwardly at right angles to the back wall and fastened to the underside of the rear end of a base of a trap supporting member. 

1. In a latch assembly for target traps each having an elongated base including a top wall and a side wall depending from a side edge of the top wall, a target throwing arm mounted on the forward end of the base for swinging movement above said base, a contractile spring for the throwing arm positioned between the arm and the base, a latching dog extending from the rear end of the arm, a latch lever associated with the dog, and a lateral pivot means mounting the lower end of the latch lever to the rear exterior part of the base side wall for oscillating movement in a plane normal to the swinging movement of the arm, said assembly comprising; a bracket mounted upon a rear part of a base''s top wall of a trap supporting member and said bracket having an upstanding back wall, mounting means on the lower end of the back wall connecting the bracket to the rear end of base''s top wall of a trap supporting member, a downwardly and forwardly inclined wall having a lateral portion overhanging a side wall of a base of a trap supporting member and connected to the upper portion of the back wall, and flange means connecting the front portion of the back wall to the top wall of a base of a trap supporting member, a narrow, longitudinally extending slot formed in the lateral portion of the inclined wall, a latch lever projecting vertically through the slot and having a foreshortened upper end associated with a dog on a throwing arm, a spring disposed within the bracket biasing the latch lever into latching position with a dog, said forward end of the slot forming a stop for said lever in said latching position, and latch trip means connected to the free end of the lever, the rear end of said slot forming a stop for the trip means, the lateral side edges of the slot supporting the lever against lateral stress when a throwing arm is moved towards latching and into cocked positions on a base of a trap supporting member and supporting the lever against lateral stress when the lever is moving toward unlatched condition.
 2. In a latch assembly for a target trap as set forth in claim 1 wherein the spring means biasing the latch lever into latching position with a dog comprises a contractile spring connected between the lever and base and positioned wholly within the bracket and a base of a trap supporting member.
 3. In a latch assembly for a target trap as set forth in claim 1 wherein the spring means biasing the latch lever into latching position with a dog comprises a contractile spring connected at one end to a portion of the lever disposed within the bracket and having its opposed end connected to the inclined wall of the bracket.
 4. In a latch assembly for a target trap as set forth in claim 1 wherein the spring means biasing the latch lever into latching position with a dog comprises a contractile spring connected at one end to a portion of the lever subjacent the inclined wall of the bracket and having its opposed end connected to a portion of a base of a trap supporting member beneath the bracket.
 5. In a latch assembly for a target trap as set forth in claim 1 wherein the mounting means is an ear projecting forwardly at right angles to the back wall and fastened to the underside of the rear end of a base of a trap supporting member. 